


it's real, it's sweet, it tastes like chocolate

by azul (7daysoftorture)



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, frenemies to lovers, kaito being a bit of an oblivious idiot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 05:59:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14909675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/7daysoftorture/pseuds/azul
Summary: Kaito doesn't know why Hakuba looks so stressed about picking a box of chocolates, but after watching him struggle for a few more minutes it becomes obvious that someone has to help the guy before he gives himself a stroke.





	it's real, it's sweet, it tastes like chocolate

Kaito rounds the corner of the candy isle and freezes in his tracks at the sight that greets him. Standing by the chocolates display is Hakuba, mouth pulled down into a frown as he inspects the chocolate boxes on the shelves with an intensity Kaito's pretty sure no chocolate box warrants. He hasn't seen Hakuba in a couple of weeks since the blond had missed the first week of school after their two weeks break, and the time they spent apart shows in the way Hakuba's hair looks longer than Kaito remembers, curling softly at his nape, his bangs brushing against his eyelashes when he blinks. He's wearing a blue jumper and a pair of grey sweatpants, which is unusual enough that Kaito's eyes linger on his legs for a moment, before he realizes what he's doing and lifts his gaze back up to Hakuba's face, which is not exactly safer since the blond has decided to pull his lower lip between his teeth and release it back out bitten red and shiny with spit, but at least this way Kaito doesn't risk getting caught ogling.

He quietly watches as Hakuba reaches for one of the boxes, hesitates for a moment, and then picks it up, bringing it close to his face to read something on the back of the package before returning it to the shelf with a frustrated noise. Kaito doesn't know why Hakuba looks so stressed about picking a box of chocolates, but after watching him struggle for a few more minutes it becomes obvious that someone has to help the guy before he gives himself a stroke.

"Hakuba," he says, lifting a hand in a casual wave.

Hakuba startles, almost dropping the box he's holding, and looks at Kaito like a deer in headlights.

"Kuroba-kun?" he asks, as if not quite believing his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Groceries," Kaito says, lifting his grocery basket filled with food. "And you've been struggling to choose a box of chocolates for longer than anyone ever should."

"You saw?" Hakuba asks, turning pink; it's a good color on him. He hastily puts the box he's holding back on the shelf and nervously adjusts his jumper, accidentally exposing his collarbones. Kaito averts his gaze. "It's just, I'm not really a fan of chocolate so I don't..." Hakuba trails off, a look of regret coming over his face; he clearly hadn't meant to say that much. 

"Oh," Kaito says, ignoring the twinge in his chest, "they're for someone else?"

Hakuba bites his lip, looking away. He looks ready to pass out, he's blushing so hard. "Well, I might not get to give it to them now," he says cryptically.

Kaito purses his lips, wondering if he's being a bother and deciding he doesn't really care either way. "I can help you pick, if you want," he offers with a shrug, stepping closer. Hakuba looks at him in surprise, and Kaito smiles, turning to the boxes on display. "These ones are my favorites." He points to one of them. "They're kind of expensive so I rarely eat them but they're really good."

Hakuba stares at him for a moment, expression inscrutable, and then he grabs the box from the shelf, not bothering to check the back of the package or the price. "Okay," he says, and then, oblivious to social cues, walks around Kaito and starts towards the checkout counter.

Kaito follows him. "That's it?"

Hakuba looks at him questioningly as he moves to stand in line behind an old lady.  
  
"You're just gonna take the first one I suggest? What if the person you're giving them to doesn't like them?"

"They do," Hakuba says, looking sure of himself.

"If you knew that, then why didn't you just pick it from the start instead of standing there for so long?"

Hakuba makes a dismissive noise. "What's important is that I picked the chocolates." He looks like he's ready to end the conversation there, taking his wallet out of his pocket and checking how much money he has, but then a look crosses his face and he turns to Kaito again, opening his mouth. "Thank you," he says - quiet, reserved. "For your help." His lips quirk up into a barely-there smile, and Kaito's eyes zero in on it.

"Uh...you're welcome," Kaito says, mouth dry. His heart thumps fast against his ribcage and he presses a hand to his chest, begging it to quiet down.

"You should finish your shopping."

"Oh." He looks down at his basket and realizes he still has plenty of stuff left to pick up before he can go home. "See you on Monday?"

Hakuba nods. "See you, Kuroba-kun."

\----::::----

"It's a fossa," Aoko says, eyes intent on the picture displayed on the screen of her phone.

Kaito taps the screen to zoom in on the animal's face. "It's so cute."

"Yeah." Aoko sighs. "There are so many animals out there we don't know about. You should buy me an animal encyclopedia for my birthday."

"Demanding, aren't you?" Kaito laughs, flicking her on the forehead. "We'll see when the time comes."

Aoko scowls and opens her mouth, probably to insult him, but her attention catches on something over his shoulder and her face lights up. "Hakuba-kun!"

Kaito turns around and sees that Hakuba's already making his way towards Aoko's desk. He's wearing his school uniform as expected, which is a look Kaito particularly appreciates on him for some reason he's yet to discern. His hair looks ruffled, but it doesn't take away from his charming looks at all. Kaito wants to kiss him because he's the prettiest thing he's ever laid eyes on, and punch him because he's Hakuba and he's a major pain in KID's ass and he shouldn't get to be half as temping as he is. Being a hormonal teenager is very confusing indeed.

"Good morning, Aoko-san," Hakuba says once he reaches them. He nods at Kaito. "Kuroba-kun."

Kaito scrunches up his face in mock annoyance. "Hakuba."

"How was your break? Did you have fun back in England?" Aoko asks, eyes lit up with interest, because she's one of the few people who genuinely care to hear about what everyone else did during their breaks.

Hakuba shrugs. "There were a few interesting cases."

Aoko makes a face and Kaito mirrors it. "You spent your break solving murders?" she asks.

"That really goes against the meaning of the word break, Hakuba."

Hakuba draws up his shoulders. "Criminals don't take breaks," he says defensively.

Kaito raises an eyebrow and looks at Aoko but she only shrugs, as if to say _what can you do?_.

"Anyway," he says, deciding to change the subject lest Hakuba start on a rant about Sherlock Holmes like he did the last time the topic of his overworking was brought up. "Did you give that person the chocolates yet?" It might be the masochist in him talking but he finds he really wants to know.

Aoko looks at him curiously. "What chocolates?"

Kaito goes to answer but Hakuba slaps a hand over his mouth to stop him. "That's a private matter, Kuroba-kun," he says tightly. His neck and ears are pink, and his hand smells like vanilla. Kaito thinks of the hand moisturizer he sometimes sees Hakuba take out of his bag during class. It must do wonders for his skin because Hakuba's hands feel impossibly soft against Kaito's lips.

His heart races painfully against his chest.

Hakuba presses his hand harder against Kaito's mouth, eyes narrowed in warning, and then drops it back to his side. Kaito silently watches him tell Aoko that it isn't anything important, just some chocolates he bought the other day. He smells vanilla on his skin for a whole hour after that, and decides it might really be hell on earth having feelings for Hakuba Saguru.

\---:::----

Class passes by in a blur, and by the time lunch break comes around Kaito has managed to fall asleep on his desk a total of three times.

"Kuroba-kun," Hakuba calls from the doorway, motioning for Kaito to follow. Kaito debates doing so for all of two seconds before he admits to himself that he's weak and too curious for his own good.

Hakuba has his school bag with him, and Kaito wonders if he's planning on taking him outside the school grounds, even though they're technically not allowed to leave halfway through the school day. He doesn't take them towards the entrance though, instead, he leads Kaito up the stairwells towards the roof. When they reach the door, Hakuba seems to suddenly find the flaw in his plan, and points to the keyhole. 

"What?" Kaito asks, blinking innocent eyes at him.

Hakuba rolls his eyes. "Do your thing." He gestures impatiently to the keyhole again and wiggles his fingers, widening his eyes at Kaito, which he interprets as _you know what I'm talking about, stop playing dumb_.

He snorts. "Okay."

The lock is pretty easy to work with, and he has the door opening wide for them in a few seconds. As they walk out onto the roof, Kaito trailing behind him at a slower pace, Hakuba starts rummaging around in his bag, looking for something.

"Why did we have to come up to the roof anyway? Is this about your chocolates? Are you going to tell me the juicy details because you have no other friends to talk to about it?" Kaito teases him.

Hakuba pauses in his search to glare at him. "Kindly shut up, Kuroba-kun."

Amused, Kaito mimics zipping his lips together and throwing away the key.

Hakuba takes a few more seconds to find what he's looking for, though at this point Kaito suspects he's just stalling for time (the reason for him doing this remains a mystery). He pulls his hand out of the bag and in it comes the small box of chocolates Kaito helped him pick out two days ago.

"What, so you haven't given it to them yet?" Kaito asks, genuine surprise slipping into his voice. "Did you bring me here to give you a pep talk? Seriously?"

"No," Hakuba says, voice dripping with frustration. "This-" He thrusts the box at Kaito.

Kaito looks at it and tilts his head in question. "What exactly do you want me to do with it?"

Hakuba looks at him like he's being particularly obtuse. "You can't possibly be that dense."

Kaito scowls. "What's that supposed to mean?" He eyes the box. "Are you trying to ask me to deliver this to whoever you want to give it to? I'm not playing delivery boy."

Hakuba apparently reaches his limit because he lets out a growl and shouts, "It's for you, you ridiculous idiot! How you can be an uncatchable international jewels thief is beyond me when you don't understand something as simple as being gifted valentine's day chocolate!"

Kaito stares as Hakuba catches his breath, then stares some more, then feels his face get increasingly warm and covers it with both hands. "It's been a few weeks since valentine's day, Hakuba," he mumbles.

"Just take the chocolate, Kuroba-kun. This was already embarrassing enough."

Kaito spreads his fingers to peek at Hakuba from behind his hands. He's holding the box out to him still, face as red as Kaito's own probably is, and he looks like he's sorely regretting coming here in the first place. Kaito slowly reaches for the box, taking it carefully from between Hakuba's clenched fingers. The package is a little dented, but Kaito admits it might be his fault for apparently being extremely dumb and making Hakuba squeeze his gift out of frustration. He opens the box, ripping open the plastic wrapping inside of it, and takes out a piece of chocolate.

"Thank you," he says, smiling down at the swirly golden patterns on the box. "They're my favorites." He looks at Hakuba from under his lashes. 

"Yeah," Hakuba snorts, looking tiredly amused as he drags a hand down his face. "I know."

Kaito pops the chocolate in his mouth and hums happily at the flavor. Hazelnut. "I'm sorry I didn't understand it sooner."

Hakuba shrugs, looking away. "I can see why you wouldn't have expected it." He runs a hand through his hair, which momentarily distracts Kaito from what he's saying, and then he's only catching the tail end of Hakuba's next sentence. "-my feelings, but as a detective I'm a big fan of honesty so I decided I should tell you anyway."

Kaito nods, not really following what Hakuba's saying but realizing it must be of some importance by the serious look on his face.

"So?" Hakuba asks, looking at him expectantly.

"So what?" Kaito swallows the rest of the chocolate and licks his lips. "These are really yummy."

Hakuba crosses his arms over his chest, which is never a good sign when combined with his current expression. "Your answer?"

"Oh...umm...did you ask something? I got kind of distracted for a second while you were talking," Kaito tells him, scratching his cheek and giving him his best apologetic look.

Hakuba sighs, looks up at the heavens for mercy, and then says, "About your feelings, for me?"

"Ah," Kaito says, feeling his neck heat up. "What about them?"

Hakuba narrows his eyes at him. "Are you being purposefully difficult?"

"No?"

"I'm asking if you like me back," he says dryly.

Kaito chokes on his own spit.  Hakuba immediately reaches forward to rub his back like a worried mother. "I'm," he coughs, "okay!"

"You don't look okay. Are you having some kind of allergic reaction to the chocolates?" Hakuba asks worriedly.

"No, sorry, I just wasn't expecting that." He pulls on his collar and hopes Hakuba doesn't realize his face isn't red because of his coughing fit. "As for the answer to your question," he pauses, enjoying the way Hakuba fidgets in anticipation. It's a new look on him, and Kaito can't say he dislikes it. "Yes, I like you. Of course I like you, otherwise I wouldn't still be here."

Hakuba's shoulders drop with relief. "You did that on purpose, trying to make me nervous."

"Well, I do like watching you squirm."

The speed at which Hakuba's face turns pink will never cease to amaze him. He pops another chocolate in his mouth. Hazelnut again, nice.

"Do you want to try one?" he asks, pointing to the chocolate in his mouth.

Hakuba looks uncertain for a moment, but then shrugs. "Sure." Kaito's holding the box against his chest so he steps closer to him to peer inside of it. "Are there different flavors?"

"Yeah, try the hazelnut one, it's really good."

Hakuba looks up, face suddenly inches away from Kaito's. "Which one is that?"

Kaito grins. "This one," he says, and kisses him.

Hakuba makes a soft sound of surprise, and Kaito swallows it greedily. He grabs Hakuba's neck and runs his hand through the curling hairs on his nape, feeling happy and warm beyond belief.

The chocolate melts between their mouths.

\----:::::-----

"You're honestly buying another encyclopedia for her birthday?"

"It's what she asked for."

"That was years ago, and are you sure she was being serious when she said she wanted more?" Hakuba asks, eyeing the books on the shelves with distrust.

"It's Aoko, I know her better than I know myself. She was being serious," Kaito assures him, picking up a book with a penguin on the cover. "What about this one?"

Hakuba inspects the cover and frowns. "Doesn't she want exotic, lesser known animal species. A penguin is hardly a lesser known animal species."

Kaito scowls. "Just because there's a penguin on the cover-"

"What about this one?" Hakuba interrupts him, pointing to one of the books on the shelf. "That seems like a lesser known animal species."

And it probably is, considering Kaito has never seen that animal in his life, though it looks a lot like an alligator, if alligators had faces that thin. Gharial, it says in the book once he picks it up and flips to the page regarding the animal on the cover, a fish-eating crocodile.

"It looks a little cartoonish, don't you think?" Hakuba says, poking at the picture gharial's snout.

Kaito snorts. "Yeah, it's sorta cute."

"So, are you taking this one?"

He nods. "Yeah, it looks exactly like what she would like, thanks."

Hakuba smiles, bringing a hand up to his chest in mock bliss. "I helped you choose something after all this time. At last, my debt is paid. I'm finally free."

Kaito stares, still not immune to Hakuba's smiles even after years of exposure. "Are you saying you only stuck around because you were in my debt after I helped you pick a box of chocolates you planned on giving to me in the first place."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Hakuba says. "And now, my freedom returned, I must leave you forever."

Kaito snorts, handing the book to the worker behind the counter. "And what will you do with all your new free time."

"I hear there's a magic show scheduled for tonight at the theater, I might go check that out, who knows. Everyone describes the magician as _charming_  and _devilishly handsome_."

"So what, you're planning on leaving me for some random magician?" Kaito asks, fighting down a grin when the worker eyes them warily as if afraid they'll start having a full blown argument in the middle of the bookshop.

"Only if he impresses me enough," Hakuba says haughtily, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes as he grabs the plastic bag with the book off the counter. He makes for the door, Kaito falling into step next to him.

"Oh?" Kaito raises an eyebrow. "Seems like a difficult feat."

"But not impossible."

"No," Kaito grins. "Definitely not impossible."

"Don't forget it's your turn to feed the dog, though. If I bring the charming magician home the last thing I need is Maru pawing at the bedroom door because you starved her for the day."

Kaito laughs. "Yeah, we don't want that happening again."

Hakuba scrunches up his face at the memory. "It was a little bit of a turn-off." He looks at his watch. "Ah, I have to go." He hands the bag to Kaito and pecks him on the lips. "See you at the show?"

Kaito smiles. "You know I'll be there."

"Well, I sure hope you are, otherwise there wouldn't be much of a show to watch, now would there?"

Kaito pulls him by the collar for another kiss. "See you."

Hakuba smiles, pretty and sweet. "See you."  
  
  
  
  
End. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i feel like Hakuba started sounding more british as the fic went on and i'm sorry for that if it bothered anyone lol  
> also, the dog's name isn't related to any of Kaito or Hakuba's obsessions because obviously they couldn't agree on one so they just picked a normal one (i literally googled the word bumblebee in japanse and it's pronounced like 'maruhanabachi' hence the diminutive maru, i just think bumblebee is such a cute name TT)
> 
> you can find me at:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/wingsoutforshin)  
> [current tumblr](http://bluelipgloss.tumblr.com/)


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